Thursday, October 22, 2015

Corn Pie (Pastel de Choclo)

Pastel de Choclo is a classic and very popular dish of South American cuisine.
It is made of Peruvian giant corn, also known as Choclo, an Andean corn with extra large kernels, almost 4 times bigger than the North American corn.
When I first heard about it, I thought the tale about the giant corn was slightly exagerated, but after visiting the local markets I was really impressed by its size and taste.
Corn is one of the most consumed foods in Peruvian cuisine and has been planted in this country for centuries.
According to Bernabe Cobo, a Sixteenth-century chronicler in the Inca Empier one could find corn ein every color under the sun from pale yellow to red, dark purple and black.
Still today there are almost 55 varieties of corn grown by local farmers.
Local cuisine offers a huge choice of dishes based on corn such as the Pastel de Choclo , which we are going to prepare today., Peppian (a stew based on grated corn kernels mixed with onions, garlic, chili and a touch of fresh coriander., sweets like Humitas ( corn mashed pastries wrapped and steamed in corn husks) or the wonderful refreshing Chicha Morada, a drink made of purple corn. The Amazing Purple Corn

Pastel de Choclo is a creamy, delicatley flavored dish with a wonderful combination of textures and savors.There is as well a vegetarin version, filled with cheese instead of meat and it tastes fanatstic too.Pastel de choclo is easy to cook and can be prepared in advance, making it a crowd pleasing and ideal party food.

My husband grew up in Chile and his mother would make this dish. Unfortunately she isn't a very good cook and she tends not to use a recipe and her version of this dish is very different to yours. I have to say none of us liked it and she would cook it only all the time. I would love to try a fabulous looking version like yours xx

Hi Charlie, I had no idea your husband grew up in Chile, so you have a South American connection too:)A pity that you tried a not so nice version of pastel de choclo, but I'm pretty sure you would enjoy this one.